CBD gets the nod for construction

LAHORE:

The Punjab Central Business District Development Authority has started work on the instructions of the provincial government to build residential and commercial high-rise buildings in the specified areas.

The authority expects to generate investment of billions of rupees in the coming years and provide employment opportunities to a large number of people through the initiative. The scheme is aimed at taking Lahore into the ranks of the cities in developed countries where high-rise buildings provide all the residential, healthcare and commercial facilities at one place.

About Rs56 billion has been invested in the projects so far, while the figure is likely to rise to Rs2 trillion in the future.

The Punjab government had set up the authority in addition to the LDA and metropolitan corporation to use the vacant land in the Walton Airport and Bab-e-Pakistan areas for residential and commercial purposes to create a business hub in Lahore.

About 295 acres of land had been handed over to the authority, which has recruited 35 professionals and hired vehicles and offices for them at an annual cost of millions of rupees.

According to officials involved in the process, the authority has divided the project into two phases.

The Walton Airport area has been named Lahore Downtown. In the first phase, the authority has auctioned 12 commercial plots through which more than Rs56 billion has been collected.

High-rise buildings of 70 storeys and above will be constructed on the auctioned plots and the authority has immediately started the development work with the funds received.

Initially, the construction of an eight-storey plaza has been started for parking 25,000 vehicles.

Work on the Kalma Chowk Underpass has also been started to reduce the traffic load on all the roads leading to the business zone, which will cost Rs4.2 billion. Under the plan, the central point of the route will be signal-free and traffic will cross the chowk uninterrupted. Similarly, those going to Ferozepur Road from Liberty Chowk will also be able to travel easily. Those going to Ferozepur Road and Liberty Chowk from Garden Town will also have a clear path.

The NLC has been tasked to complete the project in six months.

The authority will develop a park around Bab-e-Pakistan to pay homage to all the martyrs of the freedom movement. The master planning is under way and as soon as it is completed, the work on the park will be started. The authority will pay tribute to the legends of Lahore through a campaign titled Uchay Burj Lahore Dey.

An official told The Express Tribune that an aeronautical study had also been carried out to ensure that all safety protocols were followed in the construction of high-rise buildings in phase-one on the earmarked land. This will help the investors to construct high-rise buildings.

The zone will have modern business offices, hotels, restaurants and stores of branded products. Parking, IT, modern hospitals, mosques and all necessities of life will be available within the business hub.

Apart from this, apartments will be constructed to provide residential facilities to citizens at a reasonable cost.

A period of five years has been set to complete all the projects of the first phase, after which work on the second phase will be launched.

Chief Executive Muhammad Umar told The Express Tribune that the Punjab Business District Development Authority had been formed on the directives of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi with the aim of contributing to national economic stability and prosperity.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2022.